Nicola Gavigan

Senior Graphic Designer

Nicola visits Sally and Ted in Marquette, Michigan

Last week I visited my dear friends Sally and Ted at their lovely new house in Marquette, Michigan, right on Lake Superior on the Upper Peninsula. I got in midday Wednesday, October 1, but forgot to take any photos until Thursday. Wednesday we went to lunch at the Iron Bay Restaurant in downtown Marquette, then went back to Sally and Ted’s house. I took a nap, we hung around for a bit, then we went out to dinner.

Food package under blue light - "Seared Lemon Pepper Tuna Salad" — Fancy food at SFO on the way to Chicago, very late Tuesday night, September 30 – it was very good!

Open drawer with many labeled spice jars — Thursday morning, October 2 —Sally’s extremely comprehensive spice drawer

Red-headed woman leaning over the stove in a beautiful modern kitchen — Sally making breakfast – 1 – yummy scrambled eggs and English muffins

Red-headed woman leaning over the stove in a beautiful modern kitchen — Sally making breakfast – 2

Beautiful modern kitchen — Sally and Ted’s kitchen

Cookie jar, creamer and salt and pepper shakers with fanciful smiling cat design — Cookie jar, creamer and salt and pepper shakers from Ted’s grandmother

Open plan modern kitchen looking out onto blue lake — View of Lake Superior from kitchen

Spare living room with large glass door opening onto wooden deck with view of blue lake — Door to deck with view of Lake Superior

Willow tree on grassy verge against blue sky — Sally and I walked west on the Iron Ore Heritage Trail about 3 miles to downtown Marquette. Here’s a willow tree on the way to the trail.

Screenshot of pink flowers with identifying "Spotted Knapweed" type at top — Spotted Knapweed on the side of the trail

Screenshot of green seed cases with identifying "Common Milkweed" type at top — Common Milkweed

Screenshot of yellow flowers with identifying "Tansy" type at top — Tansies

Beehive-shaped stone structure on brick plaza — Former charcoal furnace, used to make charcoal for smelting iron ore

Large plaque with information about the beehive-shaped structure: Carp River charcoal Furnace — Info about the charcoal furnace (click to enlarge)

Interior of beehive-shaped stone structure — Interior of former charcoal furnace

Doorway of beehive-shaped structure with iron grate preventing entry - closeup — Former charcoal furnace

Doorway of beehive-shaped structure with iron grate preventing entry against blue sky — Former charcoal furnace

Screenshot of green leaves and white berries with identifying "Snowberries" type at top — Common Snowberry

Screenshot of green leaves and yellow flowers with brown centers with identifying "Black-eyed Susan" type at top — Black-eyed Susans

On the right, in foreground, stumps of wooden piles for a former pier, in blue water. Huge concrete structure in left background. — Stumps of pier pilings with the Lower Harbor Ore Dock in the background.

In foreground, woman with red hair leaning against an iron railing. In middle distance, stumps of wooden piles for a former pier, in blue water. Huge concrete structure in background. — Sally in front of the Ore Dock

Perspective view of building built of red stone — Building with ironstone blocks in downtown Marquette

Perspective view of a huge concrete structure in blue water — Looking down the length of the Ore Dock

Dark rocks against blue sky — Black Rocks cliffs in Presque Ile Park, about 7.5 miles from the house. These are some of the oldest rocks in the world, part of the Canadian Shield, a large area of exposed Precambrian igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks. Local kids and daredevils jump off the 20-foot cliff into the lake below.

Dark rocks against blue sky — Black Rocks cliffs – 2

Estuary between banks with green trees — Friday morning, October 3 – Sally and I walked east from the house on the Iron Ore Heritage Trail. This bayou goes out into the lake.

Screenshot of green leaves and yellow flowers with red centers with identifying "Firewheel" type at top — Firewheel flowers

Large stainless steel sculpture of an abstract tiger — Stainless steel tiger at Lakenenland. Lakenenland is a sculpture park in Marquette County with over 100 large metal sculptures created and installed by artist Tom Lakenen. This is where the Fall Phantasm 2025 festival took place on Saturday, October 4.

Huge rock hanging from chains on red-painted sculpture — Huge rock hanging from chains on sculpture at Lakenenland

Illuminated sign on side of building: "TEE PEE BAR - WE SELL HAPPINESS" — Sign for Jack’s Tee Pee Bar in Ishpeming, about 20 miles east of Marquette. We didn’t go there; we went to Congress Pizza, next door, for good thin-crust pizza

Back of Tesla Cybertruck with "DUMPSTER" license plate — Saturday, October 4 at a farmers’ market in downtown Marquette. Astonishingly, this Cybertuck owner seems to have a sense of humor.

Side and back of Tesla Cybertruck with "DUMPSTER" license plate — Dumpster Cybertruck 2

Smiling young woman under tent in open field with lamps on a table. Upright shafts of lamps have deer vertebrae threaded onto them and vintage fringed shades. — At the Fall Phantasm 2025 festival at Lakenenland in Marquette. Lamps from artist https://www.instagram.com/tinkersnblinkers/. She uses deer vertebrae for the lamp uprights.

Lamps on table under tent in open field. Upright shafts of lamps have deer vertebrae threaded onto them. — More lamp stems from tinkersnblinkers

Lamp on table under tent in open field. Upright shaft of lamp has deer vertebrae threaded onto it. Vintage landshade is red fabric with a fronge of feathers added around the bottom. — Another great lamp with a feathered shade from tinkersnblinkers

Huge Adirondack-style chair, painted red, with a large, fanciful yellow and black caterpillar on the seat and back. The the top of the back says "LAKENENLAND" in white type; the front of the seat says "MARQUETTE MICHIGAN." — Big red chair near the entrance to Lakenenland

Big red chair with woman with red hair standing on front left. — Sally in front of the chair

Big red chair with woman with black hat standing in front center, neutral expression. — Nicola in front of the chair – 1

Big red chair with smiling woman with black hat standing in front center — Nicola in front of the chair – 2

Interior of a large cream-colored canvas tent with wooden supports — This was a “Tea Tent,” offering tea and places to sit or recline. Very Burning Man! (Only clean.)

Interior of Tea Tent

Interior of a large cream-colored canvas tent, with tea-making apparatus and supplies in the foreground — The person at this tea tent place made us some very good Pu-Erh Chinese tea.

Upright sheet of metal with welds spelling out "Magnetite Iron Ore from Tilden Mine - the most magnetic mineral on Earth" — Type says “Magnetite Iron Ore from Tilden Mine – The most magnetic mineral on Earth”

Upright sheet of metal with welds spelling out "Iron Ore Pellets - Crushed or is made into pellets for easy transport" — Type says “Iron Ore Pellets – Crushed ore is made into pellets for easy transport”

Upright sheets of metal with welds spelling out "Lake Superior - 1/2 mile" with forward arrows; "AK Steel - Dearborn, MI 445 miles," with right arrows; "Tilden Mine - Ishpeming, MI - 30 miles" with left arrows; "Trivia - Pounds per cubic foot - Granite 167- Magnetite 322 - Steel 493 - Gold 1204" — Type says:
• “Lake Superior – 1/2 mile” with forward arrows;
• “AK Steel – Dearborn, MI – 445 miles,” with right arrows;
• “Tilden Mine – Ishpeming, MI – 30 miles” with left arrows;
• “Trivia – Pounds per cubic foot – Granite 167 – Magnetite 322 – Steel 493 – Gold 1204”

Large boulder resting on Steel supports — Type on plaque says “16,000 Pounds”

Two fanciful metal figures pointing in opposite directions, with a speech bubble over each head. Left: "It takes this much Iron Ore" - right: "To make this much steel" — These little creatures say “It takes this much Iron Ore” – “To make this much steel”

Huge steel slab on supports. Welds on sign in front spell out "3,000 Pounds." — Type on plaque says “3,000 Pounds.”

Upright sheet of metal with welds spelling out "Steel slab from AK Steel - One of the first products made from U.P. iron ore pellets" — Type on metal at bottom says “Steel slab from AK Steel – One of the first products made from U.P. iron ore pellets.” Text on sign with little creature at top says “And this much steel”

Type says “Will make this brand new Chevy truck”

Dilapidated wagon with little creature saying "I told you to to stop saying that the truck never showed up" — Type says “I told you stop saying that the truck never showed up”

Metal sign: 1 big circle with 6 smaller circles around it, and 1 smaller circle off to the side. Cut into the circles are words and images. Big circle: "Take Take Take - How long will it last?" with graphic of globe map. Smaller circles, L-R, clockwise from bottom left: "Fishing," "Logging," "Drilling," "Mining," "Farming," "Trap - Hunt." At bottom left is another circle with small indecipherable type. — Cut into the circles are words and images. Big circle: “Take Take Take – How long will it last?” with a graphic of a globe map. Smaller circles, L-R, clockwise from bottom left: “Fishing,” “Logging,” “Drilling,” “Mining,” “Farming,” “Trap – Hunt.” At bottom left is another circle with small type (see right).

Closeup of metal circle with small indecipherable type. — Type says “Footnote – I hunt, fish and have trapped. I’ve worked as a Logger, on Oil Rigs and in Mines. I also worked on a Farm one time. I am not against any of these Jobs or Occupations or use of these resources. I do believe it is time to help Planet Earth any way humanly possible. Renewable Energy, Natural Conservation, Recycling, Sustainable Farming, Etc. We all do our part, our grandkids will thank us. Tom Lakenen, 2021”

Woman with orange hair in long bright pink and purple dress — Phantasm festival-goer

Smiling woman with devil horns and teal corset, under a tent in an open field. In front of her is a product display of soaps and candles. — Christina Codd, of Shirley’s Suds. From their website “Shirley’s Suds is a luxury goat milk soap brand that focuses on farm to tub!”

Two white boxes of soap on a bright blue wooden bench. One is labeled "Yooper" and the other, "Sauna" — Shirley’s Suds soaps: “Yooper” and “Sauna” fragrances. (Yoopers are people in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan—the U. P.)

Maple tree with bright red leaves — Maple tree with fall colors

Colorful sunset over road — Sunset going from Phantasm back to the house

Back again at Phantasm – rainbow butterfly dancer

Poi

Improv musicians “Tom Violence”

Dark clearing with musicians and bright colored lights — Improv musicians “Tom Violence”

Colorful sunrise over lake — 7:13 am Eastern Time on Sunday, October 5 – Sunrise over Lake Superior – 1. The black objects on the right are a floodlight on a pole and a structure for hanging deer carcasses on to butcher them.

Corner of modern house from the outside — 7:18 am – Outside on the deck

Colorful sunrise over lake - half of sun is visible — 7:57 am – Sunrise over Lake Superior – 2

Colorful sunrise over lake - half of sun is visible - zoomed in — 7:57 am – Sunrise over Lake Superior – 2 – zoomed in

Colorful sunrise over lake - sun is above horizon — 7:58 am – Sunrise over Lake Superior – 3

Colorful sunrise over lake - sun is above horizon — 7:58 am – Sunrise over Lake Superior – 3 – zoomed in

Tan and white Corgi dog from the side, against a green couch — Jasper, Sally and Ted’s Corgi

Fields seen from a airplane — 12:59 pm Eastern Time on Sunday – View from the plane from Marquette to Chicago O’Hare airport – 1

1:33 pm Sunday – View from the plane from Marquette to Chicago – 2

1:38 pm Sunday – View from the plane from Marquette to Chicago – 3

View of sunset from an airplane window — 7:12 pm Pacific Time on Sunday – Sunset coming into SFO from Chicago

Chest and head of gray and white cat with green eyes looking directly at the viewer. — Home to my own true love!